Air Force Action

By Marcus Weisgerber / May 12, 2009 at 5:00 AM

Defense Secretary Robert Gates today nominated Lt. Gen. William Shelton for the position of Air Force assistant vice chief of staff, according to a Pentagon announcement. If approved by the Senate, Shelton will succeed Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, confirmed by the Senate last week as the new head of Air Force Global Strike Command.

The move comes just five months after Shelton was confirmed as the Air Force's chief of warfighting integration and chief information office.

The three-star has a long history in space-related assignments. Before coming to the Pentagon, Shelton served more than three years as the commander of 14th Air Force and the joint functional component command for space for U.S. Strategic Command. Before that, he serves as the director of plans and policy (J5) at STRATCOM.

Additionally, Maj. Gen. William Lord has been nominated to receive a third star and become Shelton's replacement as chief of warfighting integration and chief information officer. Lord is the commander of Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional).

54857